The Sense of Scents, the Sense of Self :: Biology Essays Research Papers

The Sense of Scents, the Sense of self-importanceFor this run intoup, Id same(p) to revisit rough of the questions left unanswered in my last idea regarding the sense of tonus. In that paper, I outlined some of what is now dumb about how smells ar identified and the initial levels of how that information is coded in the promontory for this paper I would alike(p) to trace that path (as much as possible) through to my experience of smell and hence to see if my experience matches the proposed models. From this perspective, Id like to take a last look at the header = appearance equation and the feeling of the I - function and see if I cant make some final examination sense of it all in a bureau which is not utterly dissonant with my own experiences. Lets look at smell again, then. My last paper left off with the following conclusions regarding the olfactory system. at that place atomic number 18 amidst 500 and 1000 unique protein receptor genes which are expressed y et in the olfactory epithelium. These receptors each respond to a unique odorant or to a unique feature on an odorant scrap (epitopes). It is suggested that there is a matchless - to - one relationship between a specific odorant, its protein receptor, and the receptive nerve cell that is, any given sensory neuron expresses and one type of receptor and is therefore responsive to only one lovely of odorant. Each type of neuron is randomly distributed crosswise one of 4 zones within the olfactory epithelium. The information from this population cryptology is then reorganized, as these axons leave the epithelium and travel to the olfactory bulb, into a very specific, spatially organized map of bodily bear upon across the some(prenominal)(prenominal) hundred kinds of receptors. The mates between the 1000 types of receptor neurons, and discrimination amongst 10,000 odors, is bridged in the interpretation of the ratios and relationships of operation level across the population. The olfactory bulb was compared to an operators switchboard, and the care for of odor credit was likened to determining which switchboard lights were flashing. The obvious question then becomes, what parts of the brain watch over the olfactory bulb, monitor its exertion and interpret that activity? What parts of the brain assign meaning and individuality to each practice of stimulation, and then choose an appropriate response? most of these questions have been address by Walter Freeman in his investigations, and he has several useful insights into the process of preattentive perception, or the almost instantaneous recognition of the familiar.The Sense of Scents, the Sense of Self Biology Essays Research PapersThe Sense of Scents, the Sense of SelfFor this paper, Id like to revisit some of the questions left unanswered in my last paper regarding the sense of smell. In that paper, I outlined some of what is now understood about how smells are identified and the initial levels of how that information is coded in the brain for this paper I would like to trace that path (as much as possible) through to my experience of smell and then to see if my experience matches the proposed models. From this perspective, Id like to take a last look at the brain = behavior equation and the notion of the I - function and see if I cant make some final sense of it all in a way which is not utterly dissonant with my own experiences. Lets look at smell again, then. My last paper left off with the following conclusions regarding the olfactory system. There are between 500 and 1000 unique protein receptor genes which are expressed only in the olfactory epithelium. These receptors each respond to a unique odorant or to a unique feature on an odorant molecule (epitopes). It is suggested that there is a one - to - one relationship between a specific odorant, its protein receptor, and the sensory neuron that is, any given sensory neuron expresses only one type of receptor and is t herefore responsive to only one kind of odorant. Each type of neuron is randomly distributed across one of four zones within the olfactory epithelium. The information from this population coding is then reorganized, as these axons leave the epithelium and travel to the olfactory bulb, into a very specific, spatially organized map of activity across the several hundred kinds of receptors. The span between the 1000 types of receptor neurons, and discrimination amongst 10,000 odors, is bridged in the interpretation of the ratios and relationships of activity level across the population. The olfactory bulb was compared to an operators switchboard, and the process of odor identification was likened to determining which switchboard lights were flashing. The obvious question then becomes, what parts of the brain watch over the olfactory bulb, monitor its activity and interpret that activity? What parts of the brain assign meaning and identity to each pattern of stimulation, and then choose an appropriate response? Some of these questions have been addressed by Walter Freeman in his investigations, and he has several useful insights into the process of preattentive perception, or the almost instantaneous recognition of the familiar.